Freeland assures Mexico of NAFTA co-operation

MEXICO CITY — Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland is in Mexico City today to reassure officials Canada is committed to a three-way renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement along with the United States.

Freeland is downplaying any suggestion the NAFTA renegotiation might lead Canada to do a side deal with a hard-bargaining Trump administration — something Mexico doesn’t want.

She says it is simply common sense that the 23-year-old agreement is “modernized” by all three member countries.

Some groups, such as the Canadian American Business Council, have said that if the going gets too tough between Mexico and the U.S., Canada should consider going it alone on a separate deal with the U.S.